TRE Air Lockers

[RockyMountainMS]

Hey guys,


I found this company that makes air lockers that are similar to ARB but much more affordable. They don't seem to be super well known yet, but I am going to give them a try. They quoted me $1075 for the front and rear air lockers and the compressor to run them shipped, or $620 for the rear locker with the compressor shipped. That's literally thousands less than going through ARB. I know that they don't have the reputation, and that they are built in China, and are probably knocking ARB off, but I want to try them out. I have looked into their design and torque testing. Their units hold up to about 97% of ARB and they have the same warranty. Their air compressor is water/weather resistant so it can be mounted outside the cab too. Their part numbers for Montero Sport air lockers are as follows (I think they are even the same as ARB):


Front: TR110

Rear: TR154



ARB Warranty: "With our improved two piece design available right across the range, along with the addition of forged gears and an industry leading five year warranty, ARB Air Lockers are now better built and better backed than ever before"


TRE Warranty: "We provide 5 year warranty and free replacement parts if the air locker is broken."



You can find the TRE air lockers vie their Facebook page or at: marxxon.com/differential.html


I hope to buy them this summer, but we will see. I don't have the desire to install them myself so I will have to add that to the cost as well. If anyone has any information or experience with these please share. It seems that some people refuse to even try them because they are made in China. All I care about is that they perform. I have found just as many articles about ARB Air Lockers failing as I have these Chinese air lockers. On the plus side, the company that makes these air lockers also makes the differentials, driveshafts, and axles for Pugeot and Citroen (http://www.marxxon.com/).

More Information:

http://marxxon.over-blog.com/2017/09/tre-air-locker-new-features-new-5-year-warranty.html


-Aaron

[CharlieN]

I see they have Torsen type diffs as well and offer them for our front diffs, I need one and was going to buy one of the Russian diffs, this offers an option for us who desire an LSD up front.

[RockyMountainMS]

That would be another plus then. The price  and warranty of getting one of these is very tempting to me. I haven't even heard of the Russian version. Is that pricey to get in the states?

[CharlieN]

There Torsen diff is about $450 to 500USD, with a bit under $200 shipping. More than one vendor, not sure if one or two manufacturers.
 One possible issue is most credit cards do not work there so straight PayPal would be needed. Probably other options as well.
I think their engineering quality and materials should be fine though.
I would not expect a great warentee but could be wrong. I learned about these through some car guys in Germany. They are happy with the product.

[DezRacer25]

I bought one for just over $600 with shipping for front locker compressor and extra solenoid. It looks like a very well built unit the compressor might even be better. They come with all the goodies you need for installation as well. Ernest will be installing it shortly for me along with the 5.29 gears. My rear is an ARB I bought 20+ years ago and has worked flawlessly except for the compressors which I have gone through 4. We will be rebuilding my rear unit at same time leaks a little these days but kit was only $25 so has been a great investment.

[RockyMountainMS]

I just ordered the TRE rear locker with the compressor for $620 shipped. I have only heard good things from the people that own TRE lockers. I am hoping to get mine installed in June. ARB has built a solid reputation, and third lockers are proven. But they are just too expensive IMO. I really hope that these TRE products hold up as well.

[RockyMountainMS]

Everything arrived Wednesday! All looks good to me so far! I'll get it installed sometime soon!

❏

❏

❏

❏

❏

❏

❏

❏

❏

[Crumb]

 Looks just like the ARB kit!

[RAWags]

Thanks for the write up on this. The pictures with the tape measure are a nice touch. When I saw the names on the dash switches all I could think of was this.

[RockyMountainMS]

 

I finally got everything installed and in the process learned some things about the Montero Sport. If you have the 3.5L with 4.90 gears like mine, the holes in your carrier ring are about 12mm (17mm socket). The TRE air lockers come with 10mm holes pre drilled. That means that you have to drill your locker out in order for it to fit. I called ARB and spoke with one of their technicians and he stated that the ARB equivalent is the same way. Both TRE and ARB still honor their warranty if you need to get your locker drilled to accommodate the bigger bolts. I tried to drill them myself at first. I built a jig to hold my locker perfectly still, but there was about 1/16" play in the shaft off my drill press. My concern was that having each hole 1/16" off would result in one or more of the 12 bolts to not line up. So I went to a machine shop and had them professionally drilled out so they would be dead center. Sadly this cost me an extra $250. After that, the install went smooth. You still need to get the carrier bearing which is a bit hard to find. The part number is H-E32011J (NACHI), hopefully that helps. I ended up with the compressor in the engine bay on the drivers side fender near the battery. Everything works fine so far, the locker locks, the compressor runs well, now I just need to test it in a real off road situation.

One thing that I didn't think about was accidentally activating the locker when operating the headlight toggle on the steering wheel or when adjusting the air vent. I am not sure what would happen at highway speeds and you lock the rear diff. So I think I am going to either install another switch that has to be on to activate the locker, or tie in the compressor switch in a way that it has to first be activated before the locker switch will work.





 



 

[RockyMountainMS]

Thanks for the write up on this. The pictures with the tape measure are a nice touch. When I saw the names on the dash switches all I could think of was this.

Haha, no problem! I am hoping it all works well. It's a bit scary being the test dummy for something. But if it turns out well, we will have a more affordable option for a locker!

[PajEvo]

This is really good stuff, man! Thanks for sharing it with us. Excellent write up too.

[RockyMountainMS]

This is really good stuff, man! Thanks for sharing it with us. Excellent write up too.

No problem, I am hitting a good trail tomorrow and will let you know if the setup grenades haha. 

[RockyMountainMS]

So I put this setup through a pretty serious stress test yesterday and the locker/air compressor held up with zero issues! The trip started from my house at 6:30am and I didn't get home until 9:05pm. It was a long day. We were on the trail by about 9:00am and finished at 7:30pm.

The trail is possible without a locker (I did it last summer) but it seemed like I was getting stuck at just about every obstacle. I needed to either go around hard stuff, build the trail up, or run and gun it with momentum to make it through. It was very stressful and I was worried that I would break something.

This time was a whole different story. It seriously is night and day now having a locker. The only thing that limited me was my stock ride height, so I had to chose my lines correctly. But I was able to effortlessly climb everything without ANY TROUBLE! Given how easy the trail was this time, I almost felt like I was cheating. Seriously, that is how big of a difference a locker makes. I was able to use it on the fly, it always engaged/disengaged smooth. So smooth in fact, you cant even feel it engaged/disengaged whether you are sitting still or moving. The locker survived a good 10 hours of serious off road action and over 400 miles of normal use now without issue. So far, every penny was worth it.

On a side note, if people are in for a group buy, TRE offered me the opportunity to be a distributor. I will be able to get it at a better price with 10 or so purchases that buying individually. Just a thought. I personally would like to use it a bit more before standing behind it though.   

[RockyMountainMS]

More information about the TRE setup: The maximum ambient temperature the TRE pump can handle before damage occurs is 150 degrees C (302 degrees F) which is really hot. But those numbers are from their tech department, so it must be right.